Generation Terrorists - The Manics' recieve 25,000 complaints for TOTP

Faster was the first song released on the Manic Street Preachers' 3rd studio album the holy bible. 

It's a song that critics always name as one of their favourite Manics songs, but why did the band receive 25,000 complaints, a record number at the time, when they performed it on Top of the Pops? 

Emily Mackay named it as the 5th best Manic Street Preachers song at The Guardian. Mackay opined "Its darkly rushing chorus is a perfect example of how Bradfield's music lifted Edwards' lyrics into something that, though harsh, was also full of an almost joyous energy, a mile-a-minute thrill and a sense of limitless audacity." 

James Forryan of HMV selected the song as one of the band's 5 highlights, who regarded it as among the best examples of Edwards' "peak of his powers as lyricist."

The controversy was not because of the song, but because of their appearance on Top of the Pops promoting the song. 

James Dean Bradfield told the Guardian, "It was a gigantic deal, TOTP. The first time we did it was incredible. When we did Faster, Richey (Edwards) wanted me to wear a balaclava.

Bradfield did, with his name, James, tip-exed on the front.

Top Of The Pops producer at the time  Ric Blaxill recalled “I remember chatting with them in the dressing room, and James had this balaclava, which had been knitted for him by his nan or aunty or something. He said, ‘Do you mind if I wear this as a laugh to show her that I’m wearing it?’ I said, Yeah, sounds like a hoot!”

“I kind of liked having bands who gave the show an edge sometimes,” Blaxill adds. “I wanted a bit of rebellion and thinking outside the world of pop.”

After their performance aired the BBC received over 25,000 complaints about the performance, many somehow interpreting the balaclava as a symbol of support for the IRA.

Yes, their first album was called Generation Terrorists, but they didn't actually support what the people complaining thought of as terrorists. 

James Dean Bradfield commented later "Because we were all dressed in army regalia, it felt like we were parodying the use of legitimate power, like the special forces. It didn't enter our heads that people would see it as an Irish paramilitary symbol."

"The day after,” Nicky Wire told Q in 2013, “Sony were saying, ‘You'll never get on Top of the Pops again!’.”

The label's paranoia was unfounded, and they would appear on Top of the Pops many more times.

The band later wrote on Twitter that “We loved playing on Top of The Pops, we’d grown up watching it- so much fun, so many memories sat in the canteen spotting the cast of EastEnders..”

The balaclava was not available for comment and was last seen in the Manics' studio many years ago, being used as a tea cosy